a) Field
The following relates to preservation of paint paraphernalia including paint brushes, paint rollers, paint trays, and other instruments which utilize paint before, during and after a painting session. More particularly, the concept deals with lengthening the useful life of paint paraphernalia in combination with wet paint, preserving the paint from contamination and loss of moisture and keeping the paint apparatuses moist between painting sessions so as to minimize startup time and cleanup time.
b) Background Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,530,470 (Roundy) discloses a convenient box preferably made of plastic that enables effective storage of a paint applying roller while the roller is wet with paint, the storage of the roller kept on a temporary basis.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,336 (Edes) discloses a protective painting utensil sleeve as discussed in column 3 at line 54. Essentially the painting utensil sleeve is a rectangular configuration with an open bottom. Further, the painting utensil sleeve is comprised of a sheath with a first panel and a second panel. Each panel has a first edge, second edge, a third edge, and fourth edge. There is a peripheral sidewall which extends between and is integrally coupled to the first, second, and third edges of each panel. An opening is defined between the fourth edges. This product is made of an elastomeric material. The sheath or sleeve itself comes in a packaging similar to, as referred to on line 19 in column 4, a conventional “condom package” in it's pre-used rolled up form. Further, to install the user unrolls the protective painting utensil sleeve over the bristles of the painting utensil. A shoulder comes into contact with the base of the painting utensil creating a seal to prevent airflow from drying the paint.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,966,902 (Korycki) discloses a paint roller cover container as discussed in column 1 at line 43, constructed with an upper and lower cover section joined along a common joint with a hinge and formed with a corresponding depression so that when the halves are closed on one another they define an elongated chamber of a size and shape to accommodate a paint roller. Further, the sections are molded as one piece of plastic material joined across a living hinge and are preformed to shape to accommodate a roller.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,966,772 (Woodnorth) discloses a paint roller and tray system as discussed in column 2 at line 11, the tray including a floor, a plurality of upstanding walls extending from the floor to form a basin and a partitioning wall configured for being removably positioned within the base and to create a first and second pans. The tray also has a first and second roller cover as discussed further in column 2 at line 21 which are axially spaced from one another so as to allow the rollers to independently rotate within the first and second pans.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,960,946 (Gramlich) discloses a modified paint roller tray having sides, a back wall, a front wall, and a two-part bottom. Further in column 2 at line 1, a pair of pivot points are attached to the back wall in order to secure the lid to the tray. Further down in column 2 at line 47, the lid can be made from the same type of material as the tray however it could be made from a different material for example the tray could be made from metal and the lid made from plastic.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,915,552 (Kim) discloses a paint roller protective device with an elongated shell including an end wall, sidewalls, an open end for receiving the roller, and a closed end, as well as a cap to seal off the open end.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,887,708 (Gonzales) discloses a paint tray cover as discussed in column 3 at line 56, including a bag for receiving the paint tray, the bag having an open end and fabricated of plastic material. The bag is chemically resistant to withstand prolonged contact with latex or oil-based paints. The bag also has upper surface and a lower surface and a hollow interior. The lower surface has a pair of holes in a spaced relationship dimensioned to receive the paint tray feet. The open end of the bag is pinched together so that the second and third pair of holes are in alignment under the front edge of the paint tray. Further in column 3 at line 18, the bag is positioned over the paint tray and user then fills the tray with paint as usual. Paint causes the plastic of the bag to conform to the bottom of the tray. Further at line 27, the bags can also be used to wrap up the roller covers and brushes and keep them from drying out overnight.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,301 (Couch) discloses a storage device for paint rollers, paint roller covers, and paint brushes. The storage device is a cylindrical container having a lid, which is flared out at the upper portions and has a foam insert at the bottom for forming a spongy seal with the paint implement. The container has a core around which the roller cover fits. The lid can be either a screwdown or friction fit lid, and has a foam insert on its underside to form a spongy seal with the upper part of the roller cover.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,701 (Jarecki) discloses a paint tray assembly consisting of a paint tray and a separate cover which is attached to and removed from the tray by meeting peripheral ribs on the underside of a lid and the top tray edge. This paint tray and lid combination are composed of rigid plastic materials or the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,617 (Von Flatern) discloses a storage container for a paint roller sleeve and has a flexible resilient tubular housing for removably storing the sleeve.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,363 (Wilson) discloses as discussed in column 1 at line 57 a rectangular shaped rigid container for temporary storage of a wet paintbrush, where the container has two parts separated about the rectangular perimeter and an opening is formed in the top walls of the two parts to allow a paintbrush handle to pass through the opening. Further at column 2 line 1, the closed cell foamed material is compressed around the handle to seal the container about the paintbrush. Also at line 22, a hinge is associated respective to each of the cover members so that they can close in a clamshell type fashion around the paintbrush.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,440,853 (Engdahl) discloses a rigid plastic cylindrical tube as referred to in column 1 at line 50, whose open distal end is closed and sealed by a plastic distal end cap.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,137 (Kyllonen) discloses a rigid paint roller tray and lid having a seal for resealable airtight mating of the tray with the lid.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,274 (Long) discloses arigid paint roller holder container with two parts, the container and a snap on lid. The container has four molded elements including a recessed support for the paint roller handle, two post supports for supporting shorter paint rollers, a support for longer paint rollers, and grooves for the snap on lid.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,138,738 (Nicholson) discloses a coating applicator having a bag detachably mounted on a paint brush head and covers the entire fiber portion of the paint brush. The bag is close fitting and conforms to the outline of the paint brush fibers. A drawstring, Velcro fasteners, or elastic bands allow the bag to be mounted to the paint brush head. The bag as discussed in column 5 at line 33, has a rolled edge or partly rolled with an angular ring of absorbent material covered by the rolled edge. The material for the bag can be a woven, knit or felt cloth and may be fine, course, thick or thin. The coating applicator is applicable for painting, but also renders paint brushes suitable for applying stains, varnishes and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,174,445 (Mull) discloses a paintbrush storage bag assembly for storing a paintbrush in a storage liquid between uses and also holding the brush while in use. As discussed in column 3 at line 7, the brush is positioned in a heavy foil bag which is pleated and tapered to provide a relatively large base. The liquid in the bag provides ballast to prevent tipping. The foil from the bag is similar to that in which vacuum packed coffee is sold. Further at line 20, the pleats of the bag are secured together by complementary look and loop fastener members. The bristles of the brush are sealed in the bag by a large wide elastic band such as a rubber band. The band is secured onto the brush around the ferrule or top portion of the bristles, in a tensioned condition. The band rolls down and tightly seals the sides of the bag and prevents spillage during operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,098 (Filipchuk) discloses a container for storing a wet paint roller comprised of a cylindrical sleeve with two end caps.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,032,188 (Kettle et al.) discloses a sealed sachet constructed of a material substantially impermeable to air and water into which the brush head can be inserted immediately after use without any prior cleaning, the sachet containing a small quantity of brush preservative or cleaning liquid to prevent any paint remaining on the bristles from drying or hardening. The sachet is sealable around the brush handle, or is provided with means for sealing the open mouth of the sachet around the handle to restrict air into the sachet. In column 5 at line 18, the sealed sachet comprises two multiple lamina, paper laminar layer and a plastic foil laminar layer, such as is commercially available for variety of different purposes in the packaging art. The layers are heat sealed one to the other around the periphery to form a sealed sachet containing a small quantity preservative liquid. At line 25 the inner surfaces of the sachet are metal foil, the outer layers are paper or plastics and suitable for printed advertising matter or instructions or both.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,903 (Kettle) discloses essentially the same subject matter as the kettle '188 patent, with variations in the claims.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,576 (Kern) discloses a waffle iron looking device or storage container for a paint roller including a housing with a recess for the paint roller and a roll of foil to provide a form of hermetic sealing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,765,123 (Caldwell) discloses a process for covering a paint tray so that it may be reused without the necessity of cleaning. As discussed in column 2 at line 9, the flexible paint impervious bag has an opening with a girth sufficiently large fit over the floor end of the paint tray. The girth is sufficiently large so that the bag in addition to fitting over the floor end is also large enough so that it lies down into the floor of the tray against the inner surface of the sides. Paint can be held within the tray and along the outer surface of the bag, allowing the tray to be used in a conventional manner but avoiding the necessity of cleaning the tray.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,358 (Kehl) discloses a paint roller cover container and extractor assembly simplifying the cleanup process. As discussed in column 2 at line 25, the container is preferably made of a polymeric plastic, and is generally cylindrical and shaped as a hollow tube having a closed bottom and an open top.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,541,542 (Florentino) discloses a paint tray cover as discussed in column 2 at line 23, containing a surface with a spatial protrusion to accommodate a paint roller brush handle. The cover is made of a flexible semi rigid material, such as polyethylene which will allow a snug airtight fit over a conventional paint tray. The spatial protrusion is preformed as a wedged shaped cavity.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,334,416 (Turano) presents an apparatus for soaking and preserving paint roller cover sleeves having an open top receptacle with bottom and side walls for holding a quantity of solvents, and a removable cap for sealing the open top portion of the container together with a post having an enlarged foot at the bottom for engaging the inside bottom of the receptacle to support the post in an upright position.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,960,448 (Switzer) discloses a brush storing bag which is easy to open and close, and permits the user to hang and suspend the brush in the bag on a hook. Further in column 1 at line 48, the bristles of the paint coated brush are closed in a sheet of plastic that is a wrapper which can be conveniently cut from a suitable sheet of sheet plastic and which is placed in position on the brush and held for removal for the rubber band or similar. Referring to column 2 at line 58, the protecting bag has a front wall and a back wall with their longitudinal edges integrally joined at the upper transverse edges as well as at the lower transverse edges, the joining is by heat sealing. The top edges are left unsealed for insertion of the entire paintbrush into the bag.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,757,990 (Buth) discloses a flexible liner for protecting a paint tray and a mechanical means for removing the flexible liner to the tray. The clips for clamping the liner to the walls of the tray act as the mechanical means, or a resilient band/drawstring or adhesive can be used to fix the liner to the tray.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,167,178 (Saunders) discloses a paint brush wrapper where as discussed in column 1 line 45 an envelope has two sides and is preferably made of plastic material. The envelope is of substantially rectangular configuration and has four edges. Each of the four edges are joined along the other to form the envelope. The first opening is formed in the envelope along one of the edges and is substantially long enough to admit the bristles of the brush and the handle in the longitudinal direction of the handle. The flap as discussed on column 2 line 11 is formed with the envelope, extends from the side, along the edge and is adapted to fold and close the opening. A snap is provided to secure the flap to the side of the envelope.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,136,409 (Schumann) discloses a package and reusable receptacle for paintbrushes. The receptacle is formed of a flexible and transparent polyvinyl sheet. It has a back panel and a shorter front panel with the longitudinal edges of the two panels united and heat sealed. Back panel is folded at the upper edge of the package and merges into a downward extending flap with a rounded edge which overlaps the upper portion of front panel. A snap is arranged to connect the flap and the back panel.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,533,829 (Merryweather) discloses a bag adapted to removably receive and store a paintbrush, or the like, in substantially fluid tight condition. In column 2 at line 37 a bag portion made in a substantially rectangular shape within open-end, is made of two flexible pieces of sheet material which are sealed or otherwise secured together around the edges. In column 3 at line 7 secured to the bag, near the top is a fastener which is comprised of a round metal snap of the button type and a cord which wrapped around the open top portion of the bag, sealing the bag tightly around the paintbrush handle, as well as providing an end loop to hang the paintbrush and bag from a hook.
U.S. Pat. No. 160,567 (Bronson) discloses a paper broom bag or case having four sides and an equal number of corners, the lower end of the case is open so that it may be passed over the broom handle and thence over the broom head, and the case is provided with a strengthening cord and attached to the lower at the bag, to bring the sides together and bind them so that the upper opening of the bag is to a size nearly if not quite equal to that of the handle.